Speculation about the Supreme Leader's health mounded around the world after the head of the Hermit Kingdom had not been seen in public for nearly three weeks.

 

Yesterday Kim appeared at the opening of a fertiliser factory to quash rumours he had died.

 

Pictures from the event appeared to show the dictator had needle marks on his forearm and he appeared to use a golf buggy to get around. Kim had previously used a cart following leg surgery.

 

But a senior South Korean government official told reporters today that the presidential office does not believe the authoritarian leader underwent an operation, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

 

The news from South Korea came as the two neighbours exchanged gunfire along the border, just a day after Kim's reappearance.

 

Choi Kang, vice president of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said he believed the timing of the 'grey area' provocation shows it could been planned to show that Kim was still in charge of the North Korean military.(ANA)

FA/ANA/3 May 2020-----